Georgia Tech

Hello everyone

Has anyone here applied/been through their Masters in Information Security program? MS in Information Security Online | School of Computer Science I am about to enroll in WGU and hopefully breeze through their program rather quickly. I am wanting to continue to the GA Tech Master program. In their admissions requirements....it advises:

"An undergraduate degree in computer science or equivalent"

Would the degree from WGU count as "Equivalent" ?
Is there anything I can do to bolster my chances of getting accepted? Aside from studying and doing as well as I can on the GRE.

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Comments

RoyalRaven

Call and ask an admissions advisor directly @ GT or even go to someone in charge of the InfoSec program. "or equivalent" leads me to believe there is some flexibility in getting in. You'll get your answer pretty fast in asking directly.

atl_libra

Unnecessary Quoting Removed

Thanks. Just shot off a email to the Degree Coordinator.

atl_libra

Well looks like GA Tech may be a tough one to get in to from a WGU Degree. Below is the email I received back.

Equivalence is determined by comparison of both undergraduate coursework (via review of transcripts) and experience (e.g., job history, honors/awards) to ascertain whether the applicant's background skills are sufficient for pursuit of an advanced degree (i.e., MS INFS). If you wish to make a self-assessment, you may find BS Computer Science | College of Computing a useful reference.

> Also, aside from getting great GRE scores and letters of
> recommendation….what else should/could I be doing to bolster my
> candidate profile?

Speaking at well-known conferences, publishing papers in acknowledged venues (academic or industry), and starting (or contributing to) open source software projects are all strong positives.

dbrink

I don't know about Georgia Tech specifically but most Computer Science Masters curriculum want you to have some undergrad CS courses and I see theirs mentions A strong background in computer science, including C programming and discrete math, is highly recommended for all applicants.

Personally, I don't see how an undergraduate degree from WGU is going to give you the foundation you need for a Computer Science Masters program. It will most likely be heavy in programming and since they are talking about C programming then it may be some low level stuff.

Hopefully the degree coordinator will clear it up for you.

atl_libra

Unnecessary Quoting Removed

Yeah I read that...and can see why it's required for a Masters in Computer Science. However the program I want to do is the Information Security Masters. If you look at the program of study MS InfoSec Online
It doesn't appear to be heavy in "Computer Science" coursework.

dmoore44

dbrink wrote: »

I don't know about Georgia Tech specifically but most Computer Science Masters curriculum want you to have some undergrad CS courses and I see theirs mentions A strong background in computer science, including C programming and discrete math, is highly recommended for all applicants.

Personally, I don't see how an undergraduate degree from WGU is going to give you the foundation you need for a Computer Science Masters program. It will most likely be heavy in programming and since they are talking about C programming then it may be some low level stuff.

Hopefully the degree coordinator will clear it up for you.

The way I interpret those pre-reqs is that the prospective program has a heavy crypto curriculum. In which case you'll be analyzing a lot of crypto algorithms AND writing code (to attempt to break them).

dbrink

And to add some more perspective, I have an undergraduate degree in Information Systems (business degree) and I spent a lot of the past 10 years taking prerequisite classes to eventually be accepted into a computer science masters program. Even though I had an undergraduate degree I had to take a lot of CS and Math courses. Not saying that this is what this program will require but don't be surprised if that is the answer you get.

atl_libra

Unnecessary Quoting Removed

Hey Dbrink

Thanks for the insight. I think I may have explained it wrong though. I'm not actually trying to get into their Computer Science program. I'm wanting to get in the Information Security Master Program. Here are the two different Programs of Study.

MS Computer Science (MS Computer Science)
MS InfoSec Online (MS Information Security)

The computer science track does seem to call for a CS background in undergraduate studies. For the Information Security track...you think it would be beneficial to take some CS and Math courses at a local college? I could probably take a class or two, while i'm handling the online workload from WGU.

RoyalRaven

Also, I've heard incredibly good things about GT's program. I considered it a long time ago but didn't want to move. I still went to one of the "National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance" programs in the country (had one local) though and it was one of the best decisions I have made.

I was a little suprised that the requirements were not as high as I think most of us would expect: needed a Bachelor's, relatively good GPA (3.0+ for sure), a well written admission letter as to why I wanted to pursue the degree and minimally two professional endorsement letters/recommendations. I did not have to take any additional undergrade classes and I did not have to take further entry tests (thought there would at least be one). It wasn't an issue with me as I was coming from a traditional 4-year school, however, I think the emphasis was on the whole admission package as to whether or not I would be accepted into the school, not 100% directly on the degree I had.

My recommendation would be to check out the class catalog or typical program-of-study for a student to ensure you'll be motivated to do the work involved. If it's extremely heavy on one subject, hopefully its something you enjoy. From what I know, the larger the school, the more likely there are multiple course paths/degree paths you can take. Even if you get in, you want to make sure you'll enjoy the work and have the potential to succeed/make it to the end to get that diploma! Make sure that you have a passion for the subject matter...it shows and it will help you to the end.

In addition...the sooner you know the requirements of getting in, the sooner you can align what you're doing now to match that...so the further out you can plan, the more likely it can work into your favor.

dbrink

I checked the Admission Requirements for both and they both say the same thing essentially but the infosec one mentions discrete math. The best thing you can do is find out what the degree coordinator thinks and go from there. I did a quick search and found an old Cryptography class description HERE so that might give a little indication on what to expect.

I had looked at the program at GT a while back but I can't swing the $3,300 per class with my work only covering $1,700 per year for school. Good luck and I hope you get good news from the degree coordinator.

atl_libra

He already replied.

Equivalence is determined by comparison of both undergraduate coursework (via review of transcripts) and experience (e.g., job history, honors/awards) to ascertain whether the applicant's background skills are sufficient for pursuit of an advanced degree (i.e., MS INFS). If you wish to make a self-assessment, you may find BS Computer Science | College of Computing a useful reference.

> Also, aside from getting great GRE scores and letters of
> recommendation….what else should/could I be doing to bolster my
> candidate profile?

Speaking at well-known conferences, publishing papers in acknowledged venues (academic or industry), and starting (or contributing to) open source software projects are all strong positives.

Looks like my dreams of Ga Tech are deferred.

dbrink

That is a bummer. There are plenty of other online Info Sec programs out there so I'd keeping looking around if that is what you want to do.

atl_libra

Yeah. Not to sound corny...but it really was a dream school. Well I was putting the cart before the horse a little anyway. I need to focus on getting through the WGU program first. UofM Dearborn looks like it may have a good program.

dmoore44

atl_libra wrote: »

Yeah. Not to sound corny...but it really was a dream school. Well I was putting the cart before the horse a little anyway. I need to focus on getting through the WGU program first. UofM Dearborn looks like it may have a good program.

Check out the stickied list of B&M Schools that offer online programs - I've posted basic info on a lot of INFOSEC programs offered at very good schools that are online...

RoyalRaven

Are you only looking at online schools or do you have the flexibility to move?

atl_libra

dmoore44 wrote: »

Check out the stickied list of B&M Schools that offer online programs - I've posted basic info on a lot of INFOSEC programs offered at very good schools that are online...

Hey Dmoore44

Thanks for compiling those schools. I have been looking through them this morning. Brandeis program looks good so far.

atl_libra

RoyalRaven wrote: »

Are you only looking at online schools or do you have the flexibility to move?

Pretty much needs to be online. I have a good job with a Fortune 500 company here in Atlanta. I'm just trying to slide over to the IT department.